Secretases

Secretases are proteolytic enzymes that are involved in the processing of amyloid precursor protein, or APP.  Three proteases that are involved in the processing of amyloid precursor protein—α-secretase, β-secretase and γ-secretase—are of particular interest as they are central to the generation and modulation of amyloid-β peptide.  β-Amyloid (Aβ) is a neurotoxic and highly aggregative peptide that accumulates in the neuritic plaque found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The amyloid hypothesis holds that the neuronal dysfunction and clinical manifestation of AD are a consequence of the long-term deposition and accumulation of Aβ.

Further reading

De Strooper et al (2010). The secretases: enzymes with therapeutic potential in Alzheimer disease. Nature Reviews Neurology 6(2) 99 PMID: 20139999

MacLeod et al (2015) The role and therapeutic targeting of α-, β- and γ-secretase in Alzheimer's disease. Future Science 1 3  PMID: 28031886

Pellegatta and Taveggia (2019) The Complex Work of Proteases and Secretases in Wallerian Degeneration: Beyond Neuregulin-1. Front. Cellular Neuroscience 13 93  PMID: 30949030